No. 1 Churchill fends off No. 2 O'Connor

Churchill's Ashley Dominguez, front, returns the ball as Cate Buckingham looks on, during a high school volleyball match against O'Connor, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill's Cate Buckingham (19) blocks the ball during a victory over O'Connor on Monday at Littleton Gym. The Chargers, a Class 5A state finalist in 2013, opened the season with a 3-1 win over the Panthers.

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O'Connor players celebrate a point during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill's Ashley Dominguez, front, returns the ball as Cate Buckingham looks on, during a high school volleyball match against O'Connor, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill's Cate Buckingham blocks the ball during a high school volleyball match against O'Connor, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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O'Connor's Gysell Benavidez, left, returns the ball as teammate Ali Fields looks on, during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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O'Connor's Gysell Benavidez, left, returns the ball as teammate Ali Fields looks on, during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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O'Connor's Laura Cruz, center, returns the ball as teammates Gysell Benavidez, left, and Alex Ecker, look on, during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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O'Connor's Laura Cruz, center, returns the ball as teammates Gysell Benavidez, left, and Alex Ecker, look on, during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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O'Connor's McKenzie Kelley, center, celebrates a point with teammates Kaitlyn Kluna, left, and Jordyn Williams, during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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O'Connor players celebrate a point during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Players on the O'Connor bench celebrate a point during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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O'Connor's McKenzie Kelley, center, celebrates a point with teammates Kaitlyn Kluna, left, and Jordyn Williams, during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill's Ashley Dominguez, left, and Cate Buckingham, return the ball during a high school volleyball match against O'Connor, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Players on the O'Connor bench celebrate a point during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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O'Connor's McKenzie Kelley returns the ball during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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O'Connor's Gysell Benavidez, front, and Laura Cruz, dive for the ball during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill's Monica Ramon returns the ball during a high school volleyball match against O'Connor, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill's Ashley Dominguez, left, and Cate Buckingham, return the ball during a high school volleyball match against O'Connor, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill's Karley York sets up the ball during a high school volleyball match against O'Connor, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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O'Connor's McKenzie Kelley returns the ball during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill players celebrate the win over O'Connor after a high school volleyball match, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill's Monica Ramon returns the ball during a high school volleyball match against O'Connor, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

O'Connor players celebrate a point against Churchill. The Panthers rallied from six down in the second set to tie the match at 1.

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Churchill's Charline Coupet, left, and BrynCaitlin Walker, eye the ball during a high school volleyball match against O'Connor, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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O'Connor's Gysell Benavidez, front, and Laura Cruz, dive for the ball during a high school volleyball match against Churchill, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill's Cate Buckingham blocks the ball during a high school volleyball match against O'Connor, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill's Ashley Dominguez, left, and Monica Ramon, return the ball during a high school volleyball match against O'Connor, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill's Karley York sets up the ball during a high school volleyball match against O'Connor, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill's Charline Coupet, left, and BrynCaitlin Walker, eye the ball during a high school volleyball match against O'Connor, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

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Churchill players celebrate the win over O'Connor after a high school volleyball match, Monday, Aug. 11, 2014, at NEISD Littleton Gymnasium in San Antonio. Churchill won 3-1. Churchill won 3-1. (Darren Abate/For the Express-News)

No. 1 Churchill could have easily looked out on the court and focused on what was missing.

A Class 5A state finalist a year ago, the Chargers could have lamented not having junior outside hitter Abby Buckingham, last year's All-Area co-Player of the Year, who is recovering from a knee injury. They could've griped about the leadership and experience they lost to graduation.

Churchill instead locked in on what it did have Monday, and that was more than enough to pace it to a 25-18, 22-25, 25-22, 25-20 season-opening win over No. 2 O'Connor at Littleton Gym.

“I think it was good to start off with the toughest team we can play, to get an idea of how good other teams are going to be and how hard we need to work,” Churchill senior setter Karley York said.

And the Chargers definitely had to work hard to prevail.

After winning the second set and tying the match at 1-1, O'Connor led 20-17 in the third set and had all the momentum.

But the Chargers rallied, scoring eight of the final 10 points to capture the frame. Taylor Martinez led the charge, recording three kills and teaming with York for two blocks during the run.

“We kind of all knew we needed to step up,” York said. “We have a lot of returners, but that doesn't mean anything. We have two new people that had never played. They don't know the experiences (from last year), how we got there, and all the hard work.”

Churchill's veterans gave their younger teammates a refreshing course on the matter, never trailing en route to securing the win in the fourth set.

Back-to-back kills from Jordyn Williams and Nia Stone pulled O'Connor into an 11-11 tie, but the Chargers responded with a 10-1 run that included six straight points at one juncture.

BrynCaitlin Walker had four kills during the frame, mixing up her shots to keep O'Connor off-balance as the Chargers eventually wore their opponent down.

“I get a lot of help from the people playing in the back row,” Walker said. “They tell me where to hit. Karley definitely helps out a lot, telling me where to hit and encouraging me to be confident. We have amazing depth on our team, so it just shows.”

The Panthers tied the match by winning the second set with a late surge. Churchill rallied from a six-point deficit to tie it at 21, but McKenzie Kelley tallied a kill and a block to spark a 4-1 closing Panthers run.

The Chargers never trailed in taking the opening stanza. Martinez had five kills and was in on two blocks, and freshman Cate Buckingham added three kills and an ace.